US President Donald Trump's envoy Richard Grenell said he was leaving Venezuela for the United States with six American citizens after meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump administration officials said earlier that one of Grenell's main tasks during his visit was the release of Americans detained in the country.
Grenell did not name the six men shown in a photo of him on the plane published in "Ex", but they are dressed in light blue clothes used by the Venezuelan prison system.
It is unclear exactly how many Americans are being held from Venezuela, but Venezuelan officials have spoken publicly about at least nine.
Maduro and Grenell earlier held a respectful discussion about migration, sanctions and Americans detained in the South American country, the Venezuelan government said in a statement after the two men met in Caracas on Friday, Reuters reported.
The meeting at the presidential palace in the Venezuelan capital came amid a Trump administration crackdown on deportations and gangs that has angered Latin American sentiment.
The two countries have strained relations, marred by sanctions and accusations of plotting a coup. But they share an interest in several unresolved bilateral issues, including a license that allows U.S. oil company "Chevron" (Chevron) to work in Venezuela, Reuters notes.
“The meeting was held with mutual respect and discussed a variety of issues of interest to both countries: migration, the negative impact of economic sanctions against Venezuela, American citizens involved in crimes on (Venezuelan) territory and the integrity of the Venezuelan political system“, the Venezuelan government said, adding that the two men agreed that relations between the two countries should open a new page.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is preparing orders to send at least 1,000 additional troops to active duty to support President Donald Trump's expanding measures against immigration, US officials said, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
They said that about 500 more soldiers - mostly a headquarters unit from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York - would be sent to southwest border. And about 500 Marines will go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some of the detained migrants will be held.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said discussions are ongoing about the deployment of forces and the number could increase as more details emerge.
The Pentagon is struggling to implement Trump's executive orders, signed shortly after he took office on Jan. 20. The first group of 1,600 active-duty troops deployed to the border last week.
The deployment reflects Trump's determination to expand the military's role in his campaign to close the border and send detained migrants back to their home countries, the AP notes.
The troops going to the border are expected to help erect wire barriers and provide necessary transportation, intelligence and other support to border patrols. The troops going to Guantanamo could help prepare the facility to receive migrants and perform other support duties.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had approved the reinstatement of a list restricting financial transactions with entities from Cuba, Reuters reported.
The list prohibits certain transactions with companies controlled by or acting on behalf of the repressive Cuban military, intelligence or security services, Rubio said.
“The State Department is reissuing the Cuba Restrictions List to deny funds to those branches of the Cuban regime that directly oppress and surveil the Cuban people while controlling large parts of the country's economy,“ Rubio said in a statement.
The United States will begin transferring migrants to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within 30 days, “Washington said post", citing Special Representative for Border Security Tom Homan.
The facility was first announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
"I hope that within 30 days we will start moving people there," Homan told the newspaper, Reuters reported.
He added that he plans to travel to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in the coming weeks to oversee the accelerated construction of the facility.
Although Trump has said that up to 30,000 migrants will be housed there, Homan said they will likely start with a small number, the "Washington Post" notes.
The U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay already has facilities for migrants - separate from the U.S. maximum-security prison for foreign terrorist suspects, which has been used for decades, including to hold Haitians and Cubans detained at sea.